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There's NO Best Binocular in this world, this Planet or even Galaxy .....

Sadly, you are very much mistaken!

It is widely accepted (and now undisputed, well at least after the great InterGalactic flame wars of 2345) that the best binoculars in the Galaxy are the ZORK Thagmeister eV8888 Eyeballizers !!!

Fortuitously these are not only the best, but also the luckiest due to their 8.88x Area 51 magnification factor which is highly sought after by Chinese space travellers.

Thanks to their Alienware Adaptive Technology and special Anti-Troll coatings they are also able to instantaneously morph to a superior specification and performance in response to any criticism or claims by alternate model fan boi's .......

Let's have no further extraneous and redundant conversation on the matter!!

It is widely accepted (and now undisputed, well at least after the great InterGalactic flame wars of 2345) that the best binoculars in the Galaxy are the ZORK Thagmeister eV8888 Eyeballizers !!!

Fortuitously these are not only the best, but also the luckiest due to their 8.88x Area 51 magnification factor which is highly sought after by Chinese space travellers.

Thanks to their Alienware Adaptive Technology and special Anti-Troll coatings they are also able to instantaneously morph to a superior specification and performance in response to any criticism or claims by alternate model fan boi's .......

Let's have no further extraneous and redundant conversation on the matter!!

I remember some years back reading reviews of Zeiss FL , as I was interested in possibly buying the 8x32 FL. The FL is considered an all time great and a venerated classic now. I read lots of very positive online reviews, allbinos type pro reviews etc.

Then I looked at old user reviews on birdforum and I saw complaints of terrible astigmatism, bendy lines on the periphery. I looked through the 8x32 outside of the nature store a few years ago. If those bendy lines were present I didn't see them when looking for birds in the trees.

Very telling remarks - but I'm not quite sure whether you meant to say Birdforum readers are possessed of powers of observation exceeding those of the average reviewer, including "pro" reviewers, or whether they are just seeing things!

If Schmidt & Bender made binoculers I'd be very surprised if they didn't knock the current top three Alphas into 2nd, 3rd and 4th place and claim the crown.

They certainly have demonstrable expertise in manufacturing rugged and reliable moving parts in their superb optics so feel sure the focusing wheel issues we continue to see in top brands would be a challenge they're more than capable of overcoming.

What my Schmidt & Bender 15-60x60 scope is notable for is internal fungus.

One day I'll try to clean it.

The objective seems to have a rather curved surface.

At least it cost little.

P.S.
Just spent half an hour cleaning the Schmidt & Bender and the fungus has gone. The fungus did not etch the inner surface of the objective.
The isopropyl alcohol fumes are a bit strong. I should have opened the window.
Cleaned the outer optical surfaces with Baader optical wonder fluid.

Need to clean up the rubber armour edges a bit still.

The shop did not know what the scope was so charged very little as an unknown item.

P.P.S.
As the tubes are collapsed the air seems to escape from the tripod holes with a hissing sound. 1/4 inch and 3/8inch.
Don't know what happens if the scope is attached to a tripod when closing the tubes.

Very telling remarks - but I'm not quite sure whether you meant to say Birdforum readers are possessed of powers of observation exceeding those of the average reviewer, including "pro" reviewers, or whether they are just seeing things!

I think it's a good mix of both scenarios here in the bino forum

I like reading the reviews here, but I take them all with a grain of salt and make up my own mind.
If I read this forum as gospel I wouldn't have a 7x or even an Ultravid. They're just "so yesterday"

Thanks to their Alienware Adaptive Technology and special Anti-Troll coatings they are also able to instantaneously morph to a superior specification and performance in response to any criticism or claims by alternate model fan boi's .......

Let's have no further extraneous and redundant conversation on the matter!!

Hey, I think those posts are great! As long as adults see things they can't possibly see, are willing to spend time performing meaningless tests, or refuse to understand that a field of 1,000 brands and models come from only a hand full of factories, my book will continue to rack up sales.

Bill

__________________
"The enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."—Dr. Stephen Hawking

Hey, I think those posts are great! As long as adults see things they can't possibly see, are willing to spend time performing meaningless tests, or refuse to understand that a field of 1,000 brands and models come from only a hand full of factories, my book will continue to rack up sales.

Bill

I'll probably buy the "Cook Book" eventually. I hope I understand most of it

Looks like you have one stellar review so far on Amazon by a BF member

In this galaxy it has not yet been decided and is being hashed out right here on BirdForum. In all other galaxies it is Leica!

Hope this helps....

CG

"... Recently, I saw a post in which an observer talked about the new binocular he had just purchased as having “super light grasp” and “incredibly sharp images.” In the course of the post this fellow shared that this was his first binocular. Thus, while both comments may have been true, one has to wonder exactly what this exuberant new observer was using as a point of reference."

Just a thought,

Bill

__________________
"The enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."—Dr. Stephen Hawking

"... Recently, I saw a post in which an observer talked about the new binocular he had just purchased as having “super light grasp” and “incredibly sharp images.” In the course of the post this fellow shared that this was his first binocular. Thus, while both comments may have been true, one has to wonder exactly what this exuberant new observer was using as a point of reference."

...so feel sure the focusing wheel issues we continue to see in top brands would be a challenge they're more than capable of overcoming.

LGM

At the risk of swerving wildly off what was clearly intended to be a light-hearted thread, I have to admit to being surprised that even top manufacturers seem to have had difficulties in this department, given that internal focusers have been incorporated into binoculars for decades. Can someone knowledgeable on this thread provide some insight as to the challenges in designing and manufacturing a trouble-free focus mechanism (leaving aside issues of "feel")? I personally have not (yet) had real issues in this department, but it seems clear that others have - and I mean genuine issues like the Noctivid being discussed in the Leica thread rather than whether a focuser feels rough or has more resistance in one direction than another.

NB. I've hunted around here and Cloudynights for "super light grasp" but can't seem to find the post WJC mentions... a shame as I'd have enjoyed reading it in full.

At the risk of swerving wildly off what was clearly intended to be a light-hearted thread, I have to admit to being surprised that even top manufacturers seem to have had difficulties in this department, given that internal focusers have been incorporated into binoculars for decades. Can someone knowledgeable on this thread provide some insight as to the challenges in designing and manufacturing a trouble-free focus mechanism (leaving aside issues of "feel")? I personally have not (yet) had real issues in this department, but it seems clear that others have - and I mean genuine issues like the Noctivid being discussed in the Leica thread rather than whether a focuser feels rough or has more resistance in one direction than another.

NB. I've hunted around here and Cloudynights for "super light grasp" but can't seem to find the post WJC mentions... a shame as I'd have enjoyed reading it in full.

Hi Patudo:

Your question has two parts:

1) As related to “Murphy’s Law” and Engineering 101, the more complex the mechanism, the more lost motion—albeit tiny—and more places for errors to creep in, especially amid thumps and bumps. Today, we have some internally focused binos that have some pretty sophisticated focus mechanisms. Whether they are as efficient as photos of their cutaways would indicate is up to the user. By some indicators, they are not.

Before getting my SE, my main birding bino was the Swift Audubon. I found the elongated focus knob on some of the latter editions to have inordinate lost motion. This could be frustrating to maddening. On the less sophisticated versions of the same bino, the action was firm and smooth.

2) That one is harder. I am confident the post was made in the last year and a half. I just don’t recall the forum. Although I have been deep sixed by Cloudy Nights for a long time, until the last week or so, I have been able to at least READ was was happening there. But, I was able to communicate with this fellow and, as a new member, I wouldn’t have had his email address. Maybe it was SWFA’s Optics Talk. I just can remember. On your behalf, I just visited their site but can’t see how to look things up. Maybe NDfarmer or Edj can help.

Bill

__________________
"The enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."—Dr. Stephen Hawking

It is widely accepted (and now undisputed, well at least after the great InterGalactic flame wars of 2345) that the best binoculars in the Galaxy are the ZORK Thagmeister eV8888 Eyeballizers !!!

Fortuitously these are not only the best, but also the luckiest due to their 8.88x Area 51 magnification factor which is highly sought after by Chinese space travellers.

Thanks to their Alienware Adaptive Technology and special Anti-Troll coatings they are also able to instantaneously morph to a superior specification and performance in response to any criticism or claims by alternate model fan boi's .......

Let's have no further extraneous and redundant conversation on the matter!!

Chosun

Zarquon's Knees CJ!

You are so behind the times. Thagmeister has already replaced the eV8888 via a wormhole from the future with the DOJ Heisenberger. DOJ stands for Day of Judgement and the unsettling clarity of vision that comes to us all on that day, but the biggest feature is its Heisenberg Uncertain Magnification Generator. The HUMG (which oddly enough is pronounced 'widget' by the Thagmeisters) endows this device with a series of magnifications from zero all the way to just short of infinity all at the same time, and only adopts the magnification of your choice at the instant you look through it and it scans your underlying brain emissions thus revealing your preference.

Those without brain emissions, or who dither over what magnification they prefer, need not bother saving up for this staggering new instrument as it won't work for them. I say staggering because it weighs around 50kg (depending on the gravitational field of your planet) and is enough to give any sentient species the 'staggers'.

The only problem with this epoch-defining bino is that the focus is harder to move in one direction than the other and squeaks a bit.